By: Pattee Mak
The last time I spoke with Joseph Rabbotte aka “The Most Beautiful Thang in Boxing” he was looking forward to the opportunity to fight at Foxwoods Resort and Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut against Heavyweight Contender Rashad Minor but that fight never happened. Now almost a year later I wanted to touch base with Joe to see how his training and boxing career has progressed.
Pattee: Since we spoke in 2010, you’ve had an additional 3 wins and 2 losses. Tell us about your last fight against Jess Oltmanns in Decatur, Georgia where you were victorious.
Rabbotte: Well, my fight with Jesse was a very entertaining one. I had him hurt early and could have finished him in the 1st but that would done me no good. It was my 2nd fight under my new team Paul Murphy Boxing and we all worked very hard to earn a win.
Pattee: Now your record stands at 11-16-1. I know it doesn’t look good on paper but I’m sure these were some tough fights for you. Do you care to elaborate on your record?
Rabbotte: My record is not indicative of my ability. I have been robbed more than I been beat and honestly was in the ring with great fighters way before I was ready but I’m a champion. I have wins over champions and will soon be a champion again I believe.
Pattee: Where are you currently training?
Rabbotte: I train in Atlanta, Georgia with Paul Murphy Boxing Team.
Pattee: Who is currently training you?
Rabbotte: Bert Well and Chris Troop along with everybody who is in the gym fussing at me.
Pattee: Whom would you eventually like to fight?
Rabbotte: I would eventually like to fight Tony Grano then move up from there. This division is wide open for the taking and I want my piece of the pie.
Pattee: Wasn’t there some chatter about you fighting Grano previously but the fight never took place?
Rabbotte: I was supposed to fight Grano before I won my title but never materialized for some reason but if I fight Grano it would be great because I would show once I’m in for real.
Pattee: Where do you eventually like to go in boxing?
Rabbotte: I feel like I can still be great. I have the talent and the training coupled with the work ethic. I just need some to believe they can beat me and I’ll be on my way baby!
Pattee: Now you mentioned to me that you skipped fighting at amateur level and went right to professional level of boxing. Looking back would you change any of it?
Rabbotte: No. I wouldn’t change it for the world. I am proud of what I accomplished on professional level so sometime however I feel I would have been recognized in the amateurs and probably had promotion deal now, which would be great.
Pattee: Are you currently under a contract with anyone managing you?
Rabbotte: I am self-managed fighter but my trainers usually make the deals for me. I just train and fight. I leave the other stuff to the coaching staff.
Pattee: Who is your favorite boxer of all time?
Rabbotte: I would have to say Roy Jones Jr and Bernard Hopkins.
Pattee: Out of all your 28 fights, which one did you learn the most from?
Rabbotte: What I learned most about my 28 pro fights is that I am as human as the next man. I put myself in horrible fight situations expecting my hood mentality to get me by. I have since let go of my ghetto mindset and I am putting in the work necessary to be successful.
Pattee: And out of all your 28 fights, which one were you must impressed with?
Rabbotte: I look at my fight against Eric Molina earlier this year as my biggest accomplishment even though I did not get a win (even though I dominated) because I had to take the fight on short notice I had a broken nose before the fight and still found a way to fight for 6 rounds and put forth a winning effort.
Pattee: Why did you have to take that fight on short notice?
Rabbotte: Because they never want a prepared fighter. Promoters want their fighter to look good so they call people at the last minute and try to shine on him.
Pattee: Is there anyone along the way you’d wish to thank for his or her extra special care and support in the boxing world?
Rabbotte: Jose “Yayo” Ortiz, Tyrone Johnson and Coach Olie Pitts. Jose prepared me for my title fight which I won against Taurus Sykes and Tyrone and Coach Olie both worked me in the beginning of my career when I would never listen.
Pattee: I’m sure your children are very proud of you. What do they think of Daddy the boxer?
Rabbotte: My kids don’t really care that I box, they just want me to have money ha ha ha. They don’t understand the seriousness of the sport which is good by the time they do I’ll be almost out of it ….. almost!!!
Pattee: What do you wish to tell your fans out there?
Rabbotte: I want my fans to know that anything is possible I consider myself “America’s Comeback” because America needs to be believe in something in these trying times. I wanna give America a reason to believe again like Joe Luis did. Also that I’m “LIGHT SKINNN AND IM GOWWINN INNN ” I appreciate all the support.
Thank you for taking the time to speak with me again. As always it was a pleasure.
For questions, comments or suggestions, please contact me below or via facebook under Pattee Mak.
Should you wish to follow Rabbotte boxing progress you can find him on facebook under Junior Finesse.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
